The Why is Everything. Michael Silver.

 

The Why is Everything. Michael Silver.

A Story of Football, Rivalry and Revolution. 

When we read about the game of football, the novel usually entails stories about people.  Football players and football coaches are people, interesting, driven and perhaps a touch crazy people as well.  There are a lot of moving parts in the game of football.   Coaches spend many long, arduous hours, days and years developing game/teaching theories and philosophies about the game.   Traditionally, historically players do as they are coached…. until they don’t.    The same can be said about young assistants in the new generation.   Players want to know the reasons and the assistants need to be able to explain it.  

Author Michael Silver, in his latest book, attempts to address how “The Why is Everything”.    Inside the reader will be introduced to many characters but mostly NFL assistant coaches.   In essence this is a book about people in the form of a noteworthy and successful coaching tree.    The lead character of this book, at least initially, is former Super Bowl winning head coach Michael Shanahan.   The author explains enough about his coaching trials and tribulations when the new lead turns to his assistant coaching son, Kyle Shanahan.   From there a strong core of coaching peers is introduced and explained throughout this unique occupational tale.  There may be nothing unusual about assistants bonding with one another in the coaching fraternity.    However, when the nucleus of the new generation’s assistants all becomes NFL head coaches within a few years of one another, well, that becomes a more intriguing story. 

Each assistant has time and space within the novel dedicated to their story.    Infamously dubbed the “fun bunch” by a former player, Silver tells us about their upbringings, their experiences as an athlete and how they broke into the coaching business and cut their teeth within the profession.    Kyle Shanahan, the current head coach of the San Francisco 49’ers is up first due to his immediate lineage to his father, of course.    But the story moves in non-linear directions talking about the emergence of other assistants including Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Matt Lafluer and Raheem Morris, all current NFL head coaches heading into the 2025 season.  

A convenient impetus for this story is how the coaching personalities intertwine among one another.    They all worked together as assistants for one season in 2013, under Mike Shanahan, with the Washington Redskins (now commanders). 

Reporting from the author was insightful, especially with the many dialogues included.   An example was how Rams quarterback reacted to his head coach when learning about how he was traded from another source outside of the organization.    The author frequently detailed how some of the players view the coaches.   One player was quoted as saying the coaches need to know how they are perceived by the players as well as how they do their jobs.  Other key examples mentioned include how Kyle Shanahan was told by a veteran QB in the league that coaches sometimes must consider players over plays to make it work.   That seems to have resonated with the younger Shanahan’s career to date, at least that is the impression of Silver.

The sub-title talks about the tale of rivalry, and revolution, in this opus.    At times, the book illuminates the tension between Shanahan (49er’s) and McVay (Rams) not only coaching in the same conference but division, too.    Driven coaches are competitive and there was constant competition to get an edge on one another through strategy and player acquisition.    The author exposes the pressures and rigors of the job and how it might get to the coach.    This was evident in at least two cases, one being McVay, who reportedly was feeling a bit burned out by the job and may have questioned whether he could go on in this current state, especially after coming close and losing big games, although ultimately winning it all in 2022.  The other example was concerning McDaniel, who reportedly has battled his own demons along the way as an assistant, requiring time away from the coaching duties before eventually persevering and then landing a head job with the Dolphins.  

The story stretches out over many years.   In fact, the author stated that this book took more than a decade to put together.  This is evident in the timing of key conversations with coaches and players, and not always presented in linear fashion, to compile all the information needed to compose this lengthy book.   

Silver takes the reader behind the scenes a bit regarding head coaching relationships with their quarterback.   He explains that it could be fluid between player and coach and fleeting for the player.  A prime example was how Shanahan and McVay both soured on their initial starting QBs with the 49ers and Rams respectively.    Both coaches found their suitable, successful replacements although in different player acquisition vehicles.     One was obtaining a veteran via free agency and the other was by getting lucky with a very late draft pick out of college (this player recently signed a second contract for a very hefty payday!).

The “revolution” is attributable to how the assistants took to the game and molded their group and individual philosophies that enabled them to become hot assistants ultimately landing a head job. Through, the author reports, voracious film study and perpetual refining of their crafts, they came up with winning formulas on both sides of the ball.   

This is a story about football and people.    They just happen to be driven NFL coaches with their quirks, problems and successes.    The author takes twenty-three chapters and an epilogue to fit inside a four-hundred-page manuscript.  One does not have to be an NFL fan to enjoy this book, but it helps as that is the primary focus of this story.   Despite the author needing to take a decade to compile and finally report the unfolding and branching of this coaching group, The Why is an interesting, compelling and intriguing book that helps the reader grasp what has been developing even to the most watchful eyes amidst the NFL coaching landscape.            

           

·       You might like this book if you are a fan of Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay.

·       You might like to read this book if you like to read about assistants and head football coaches.

·       You might like to read this book if you are a fan of NFL and pro football stories.

·       You might like to read this book if you are a football fan in general.    

Read more about the author on X:    https://x.com/MikeSilver